The Bells of Konoha
by MaryJane1913
Summary: Inspired by Disney's Hunchback of NotraDome comes a story of a boy trapped in a church all his life. Always told that he is a monster and no one will love him,until one day it all changed and so will Konoha.Fate will cross once again. NaruxHina SasuxSaku
1. The Sweet, Plentiful Sound

_The Sweet, Plentiful Sound_

_Long ago, Konoha was a peaceful village, filled with proud and strong ninjas, who's only goal was to protect the innocent and keep peace amongst its people. It was a village filled with powerful family clans and even more powerful elite ninjas that worked for the soul purpose of the village. _

_But many years ago all of that changed…_

_An outpour of demons terrorized different villages, including Konoha. The squads fought with all their might, but even their best wasn't enough. At the same time, a band of rogue ninjas, named the Akatsuki, used the opportunity of the weakening villages to take control of all the towns, villages, cities, states, and countries. _

_One by one, they took over and one by one the demons began to disappear. All that was left was Konoha and the Nine-Tailed Fox demon. In battle, the leaders of Konoha, named Hokages, fought alongside with their ninja armies. In this war, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi, died in battle and the Forth Hokage, Minato, disappeared without a trace._

_As the Akatsuki moved forward into Konoha, the family ninja clans started to disappear along with the Forth Hokage. One by one, minute by minute, each clan disappeared, leaving only one in the village. _

_In desperation, the Konoha Council appointed a new Hokage; the Fifth, Tsunde, but she did not last long. As the Nine-Tail Fox made its way to the village, Tsunde disappeared, as well as the ninja's that followed her. Only a few ninjas stayed. Some joined with the Akatsuki and others found new ways of life, to erase their memories of their falling village._

_The Konoha Council was overthrown by the Akatsuki, before being able to appoint a new Hokage. Suddenly, without warning, the Nine-Tailed Fox disappeared, leaving no trace of its existence. _

_Konoha, now under the hands of the Akatsuki, became part of a list of villages and countries taken over. All large villages had been taken over, but only time stood in the way of smaller villages before they too were overthrown. The Akatsuki appointed a leader for Konoha, leaving it in his hands at the young age of sixteen. _

_The village now sits in fears. Villagers go on with their lives as if nothing has changed, but underneath they know that with any wrong step, their lives would be taken away. Practicing the art of becoming a ninja became forbidden, unless you joined the Akatsuki and worked for their armies. _

_With the village in a state of fright, no one dared fight against the Akatsuki. They decided to live a lie of happiness and a false sense of peace and security. Still there was one thing that kept their hopes up high, a place where they could escape the streets and find peace for a few minutes, a place where they could pray and hope for a better tomorrow. _

_The Church of Konoha stood in the center of the village, standing tall above the skyline. No matter where you were you could always see the top chamber of the church were a set of bells stood. These bells were rung three times a day. Once at dawn, once at noon, and once after the sunset when the moon shined it's brightest. These were the chimes that brought real peace to the village._

_The sweet, plentiful sounds of the Bells of Konoha. _


	2. Who is the Man and Who is the Monster

_Who is the Monster and Who is the Man?_

The bells chimed as the full moon shined brightly upon Konoha. Most of the villagers escaped to their homes, running from the streets filled with watchful ninja eyes. The streets lay silent as the final ramen shop shut down for the evening. Those that still roamed the streets didn't say a word, the only sound heard were their footsteps as they made their way back home.

The bells chimed once more, this time with a loud bang that shook those that were not alert. A small canal ran along the main street. Its clear water reflected the moon light, beaming as it would during the day. No fish swam in these waters, as the canals ran to the wells for drinking and bathing water, of course only the hot water ran to headquarters of the Akatsuki in Konoha as the rest of the village dealt with the water as it flowed. The villagers preferred the summer, when the hot sun would warm the water, but during the winter, the water was colder than the air that blew through, leaving a shiver down their spines.

The water splashed softly as a man placed a poll to the bottom of the canal. He pushed the poll so that his small boat would move along the canal. In the boat sat four people along with the man: two men, a woman, and a baby boy. The five of them quietly moved along the canal, until a sudden loud splash from a rock awoke the baby. He began to cry, screaming at the top of his lungs.

The sudden sound broke the silence in the area, freighting the others on the boat. The two men, twin brothers, turned to the woman. "Shut it up, will you," said the youngest twin brother.

"We'll be spotted," continued the oldest.

She rocked the baby in her arms, wrapping its blanket tighter as to warm the child from the chilling night wind, "Hush little one." She gracefully rocked him in her arms and hummed a song into his small fuzzy ears. She brushed her finger through the small bits of blond hair that poked out of his head. He began to quiet down as he yawn and began to fall asleep. He opened his eyes, blinking them a few times before grabbing the woman's finger.

She smiled at him, as his grip loosened and he fell to sleep.

The man rowing the boat reached the end of the canal. He began to help the other four out of the boat, leaving them near the front of the gates of Konoha. As they stood outside the boat, the man extended his hand, "Some money for your safe escape from Konoha."

As the oldest twin began to reach for some money, a sudden sound caught them off guard. They quickly moved away only to find a small kunai land near their feet. They looked up to see a band of ninjas hiding behind bushes, trees, and walls.

It was a trap planted by the Akatsuki. How did they learn of their escape? How did they know what time or place?

The woman stood back, holding her baby firmly to her chest. The twins stood in front of her, taking a stance that showed they were prepared to fight. A storm of ninjas rushed towards them. The twins spun in a circle, creating a barrier to deflect the ninjas attack, but there were too many of them and they were not fully prepared.

The ninjas grabbed hold of the twins as a figure walked closer to them. The ninjas separated, creating room for the man as he walked towards them. The twins looked up while they struggled to set themselves free and gazed up in fear and alarm.

The moon light radiated off of the man, showing his devilish face. "Uchiha Itachi," the twins responded. He was seventeen years old, with long black hair, tied in the back. Two scar-like marks ran across his cheeks from underneath his black eyes. He was emotionless, showing no expression what so ever. He looked down at the twins and gave a command to the ninjas, "Take these gypsies to the Palace of Justice."

As they took the twins away to the palace, the woman struggled to keep the ninjas away. She tired to hide the child in her arms, so that none of them would see the baby, but one did, "You there, what are you hiding?"

"Stolen goods, no doubt," said Itachi, "take them from her."

She ran.

Holding the baby firmly near her chest, she dodged a group of ninjas and sped through the village. Itachi ran after her, tracing every step she took. He threw a kunai at her, but before he could see her, she created a hand jutsu. She disappeared into a cloud of smoke and reappeared behind Itachi. He quickly changed his footing.

Before she could blink, he was in front of her. She bumped into him and fell to the ground. "A ninja I see. So the gypsies are smarter than I thought." He raised a sword from a sheath on his back and swung it at her. As he felt the sword slice through, a log appeared to have been split.

She had transformed a log into a clone.

She took deep breathes from behind a safe wall, watching Itachi fall for her trick. She began to run again, when a sudden burst of lighting struck in the air. The moon was quickly covered by dark, menacing clouds and heavy rain began to fall. The water made it harder for her to see even a few feet ahead of herself, but she knew not to run back to the entry gate.

She ran to the center square, where small market booths stood, closed for the evening. At the end of the square she saw a tall familiar building. Craved into the stone walls were faces of elite ninjas and past Hokages. Legendary figures of Konoha's past were engraved in the walls, around a large wooden door. It was the Church of Konoha.

It had been a long while since she had stepped foot near the church, but she knew that it was the only place she could escape. She ran to the large doors and pounded them with one of her hands, holding the baby tightly in the other. "Sanctuary, please give us sanctuary!" she cried, but there was no answer.

The rain poured harder on her face, there was no part of her that was dry. She raced to the back door of the church. Water splashed as she dashed to the door, but before she could knock, she felt a sharp pain on her back.

Five kunai stabbed her spinal cord. She collapsed to the floor, but with her last bit of energy she held the baby close as to not hurt him when she fell. Blood flowed from her back, as she took her last breath, staring at the baby. The blood flowed with the falling rain, running down into the street, to the middle of the town square.

Itachi walked up to her with no regret, looked at the dead woman on the floor. Surprised, he heard a whaling sound from underneath the woman. He reached for the blanket and pulled it out. "A baby?" he said, pulling the blanket away from its face.

He cringed in disgust when he saw what he was holding. "A monster," he recoiled as a small furry red tail touched his arm. He placed the child on the floor beside the woman. There was no mistake; he had to get rid of this monstrous child.

He pulled out his sword and raised it above his head. The rain fell brutally on the baby as it screamed for comfort. A flash of lighting streaked across the sky as Itachi launched his blade towards the child.

"Stop!" cried a voice. Inches away, Itachi stopped the blade from touching the baby. He looked to his side to see the two priests of the church, Iruka and Kakashi. Kakashi was bent, near the woman's body. He raised her head, moving the bright red hair away from her face. He gasped, "Kushina?"

His eyes watered, mixing in with the rain that dripped off his sliver hair. He wore a mask over his mouth and nose and wore the old Leaf Village headband over his forehead and left eye. He held the body close, embracing her cold skin in his arms.

Iruka looked at the sight and then back at Itachi. His brown hair was normally pulled back, but since he had been awoken by the loud knock on the church doors, he did not get a chance to fix it. His dark skin seemed to glow, even in the darkness of the heavy rain storm. A scar marked the center of his face, running across his nose and underneath his brown eyes.

"This is an unholy demon," said Itachi, "I'm sending it back to hell, where it belongs."

"See fair the innocent blood you have spilled on the steps of Konoha?" responded Iruka.

"I am guiltless. She ran. I pursued."

"Now you would add this child's blood to your guilt, on the steps of Konoha?"

"My conscience is clear."

"You can lie to yourself and your ninjas. You can claim that you haven't a flaw. But you never can run or hide what you've done from the eyes of Konoha." Iruka pointed to the cravings on the church, the statues of the legendary ninja of Konoha's past. For a moment, it seemed as if each statue was staring at Itachi, each one judging him for the mistakes he made. He looked high above the church to see the statue of their God and messiah. Lined along with them where the saints and priests that had cared for the church in the past, each one staring at Itachi's sins.

He had done so many things wrong in his life, so many things that would send any man to hell, but there was something about this moment. Many of those worst than the moment he was placed into, but never had he felt as if his life was endangered, or better yet, his afterlife.

"What must I do?" he asked.

"Care for the child," Iruka answered as Kakashi took the woman's dead body into the church, "and raise it as your own."

"What? I'm to be settled with this misshaped…Very well," he said as he looked at the child, "but let him live with you in your church."

"Live here? Where?" he asked.

Itachi looked up at the church, "The bell tower, perhaps, and who knows, our lord works in mysterious way." Itachi smiled to himself. _"Even this fowl creature may yet prove one day to be," _he thought, _"of use, to me."_

Itachi named the child Naruto and left him in the hands of Iruka.

The rain poured down heavily throughout the rest of the night, not clearing up until the sun began to rise from beyond the Hokage Mountain. What began as a trap to capture escaping gypsies, ended him up with a creature beyond what Itachi had ever seen.

But who is the man and who is the monster?


	3. Those That Care

_Those That Care_

He arose from his bed as a small bell hung from the ceiling rang beside him. He quickly stood from his small bed, made only of wood, a small, torn blanket, and a pillow smaller than a newborn child. He opened the door, letting fresh air seep into his normally dark, dusty and stuffy room. The little bell rang again, this time as if it was frustrated.

"I'm up, Iruka-sensei!" screamed Naruto. The bell suddenly stopped ringing. Naruto stretched his arms high, almost digging his claws on the wooden panel above his head. He scratched his spiky blond hair and wiggled his red fox ears, trying to hear the morning birds as they were about to sing. His chest was bare with only a small necklace dangling around his neck and a circular marking on his stomach, in which he, himself couldn't explain its origins.

It seemed as if Iruka had awoken Naruto a bit early this morning, as Naruto's morning sign to ring the church bells has yet to sing it's musical tune. With this time, he decided to change into, what he considered, cleaner clothing. He removed his pair of torn orange pants and replaced them with another pair that seemed identical. The only difference was the amount of dirt on the pair he had removed and the pair he had put on. As he was about to place his right leg into his pants, his morning signal began to sing.

A small nest of birds started chirping as the sun began to raise from behind the entry gates of Konoha. In haste, he finished putting on his pants, unknowingly ripping a seam with the claws on his toes. He wedged his red fox tail out of the hole behind his pants, running to the nearest rope in the bell tower. Just as he finished zipping up his pants, he jumped over to a wooden panel, only five inches in width, and balanced himself before moving along to the next one. After six panels, he made his way to the rope, pulling with strength.

With each pull, the bells in the tower began to chime. He moved to the next rope, to create a different, but softer sounding bell than before. As he began to mix the different sized bells at a different, but perfectly executed time, the sounds created a engaging song heard all over the village.

In their homes, people began to awake with the bells uplifting tune. Mother's awoke their children, father's prepared for work. They all rose to begin their day, with the gentle chime of the bells playing as their morning song. The sun rose with the bells, reaching higher in the sky as each bell rang. Once the sun shinned completely onto the village, Naruto stop ringing the bells.

He dusted his hands off on his pants before jumping across the bell tower to the opened ledge. Standing on the ledge of the bell tower of the Konoha Church, he looked down at the village. He saw merchants opening their stores and could smell the bakers beginning their makings of morning bread. How he always dreamed of having bread fresh from the oven. Naruto took a sniff of air and looked high into the morning sky. Rays of sunshine touched his face. His red, almost demonic, eyes glowed with the sun as he smiled, exposing his fangs and wrinkling the fox whisker markings on his cheek.

"Today is a new day," he said to himself, "and maybe, just maybe, my wish will come today."

"And what dream might that be?" said a girlish voice from behind.

Naruto turned to see Sakura standing at the bottom of the bell tower holding a tray of food. His smile grew larger as he jumped off the leg, twenty feet down, to Sakura. As he landed dust filled the air and Sakura began to cough. She tired to moved the dust away with one of her hands, but couldn't due to the tray she was holding.

Naruto looked at his dazzling friend in front of him. She opened her eyes revealing the bright green color. Her soft pink hair shimmered with the sunlight, with a small red ribbon around her head allowing only her bangs to cover her face. She wore a cherry colored long sleeve shirt and a midway thigh khaki skirt with black shorts underneath. Her boots were to her knees as the bottom of the shoes opened at the tip, showing off her toes.

"Naruto, be careful where you land next time. You don't want dust all over your breakfast do you?" She handed him the tray of food. A piece of day old bread with water and some grapes, but there was something different about the bread this morning. "Butter?" he asked, "but I never get butter. Why the treat?"

"Naruto, do you not remember your own birthday?" As he bit into the bread, tasting the creamy texture, he raised his eyebrow in questioning. He shoved the rest of his bread, into his mouth, and ran back to his room, leaving Sakura to chase after him with the tray. On his door was a small calendar. She was right; today was October 11th, his twentieth birthday. For so long he had been waiting for this day, and he was shocked to have forgotten.

He quickly turned to Sakura, "When is master coming?"

Sakura hated hearing about Naruto's master, only thing worse was seeing him. "Itachi will be here at his usual time, noon."

Naruto jumped for joy. "Oh I can't wait. Today is finally the day. I've been waiting for this day for fifteen years."

Sakura placed the tray of food on a table that sat next to Naruto's bedroom door. She pulled a chair and sat down. "What have you been waiting for?"

"Master Itachi promised me that on my twentieth birthday he would allow me to go to the village for a day. A whole day of walking around the village, meeting people, eating fresh food, shopping… all the things a normal villager would do."

Sakura was shocked to hear suck a thing. She never imaged Itachi to be one to make such a promise. Since she moved into the church ten years ago, she always saw Itachi as a cruel man, who kept Naruto away from the world. He never once seemed to care about Naruto's well being and much less his freedom.

A monster… that's what Itachi has always called Naruto, and to this day, Sakura swore that this is how he saw Naruto, nothing but a monster of human nature.

"You know what this also means, right?" asked Naruto placing his face only inches away from Sakura.

"What?"

"It's only two months and twelve days until the anniversary of when you moved in."

Sakura smiled. She remembered that day, although her memory of it wasn't as joist as Naruto made it out to be.

It was the day her parents had been killed and she was left as an orphan to be taken care of at the church. That very day, Sakura sat allow in her new room, crying for the loss of her parents when a ten year old Naruto appeared at her door. At first she screamed in fright, scaring Naruto more than she was scared by him. As he hid from her behind the wall near her door, she stopped screaming. He nervously stepped back into the room and in his hands he had a flower he had grown in a potted garden he had in the bell tower.

"_I heard your crying," _he said.

He handed her the flowers and left quickly without saying another word. Since that day, Sakura never saw Naruto as a monster, but as a friend… a best friend. That was the reason for her smile, although horrible to her, she knew that for Naruto, it was the day he made his first true friend.

"Oh, of course," she said as if she had already known, "How could I forget?"

Naruto smiled a childish grin. Suddenly his head shot up and his ears wiggled. "I think he's here!" Naruto ran to the door of the stairway and swiftly opened the door.

Standing at the end of the stairway wasn't Itachi, but Kakashi. He seemed to grin behind his mask and scratched the back of his head. "Happy birthday Naruto."

Although not the person he was hoping for, he was still glad to see Kakashi. Since he could remember, Kakashi and Iruka have been taking care of him when Itachi wasn't visiting. He saw them as teachers, always there watching over him, making sure he would never mess up.

"Here," said Kakashi, "a present from Iruka and me." In his hand he held out a book entitled _Ninja Techniques for Beginners_. Naruto was shocked that this book was being presented to him by Kakashi. "Don't give me that look. I know Sakura has been sneaking ninja books up here for the past eight years. Where do you think she found them?"

Itachi had told Kakashi and Iruka that Naruto was not allowed to read books, especially anything that had to do with becoming a ninja, since it was already forbidden with the rest of the village, but Itachi did not know about Kakashi's collection of ninja training books from the times that he was a ninja.

When Sakura heard this as a child, she knew that whatever Itachi was forbidding Naruto or the village to do was something that she needed to learn. She secretly began to take some of the books from Kakashi and trained at night in her room. She would then pass the book down to Naruto, but he would only read them as he knew not how to control any powers he may have. He enjoyed reading the books and sometimes scrolls that Sakura would bring him. As a hiding place, he would place the books in a crack on the floor near his room, so that Itachi would never find them.

"So you knew all along," asked Sakura.

"No," answered Kakashi, "I only found out two weeks ago. It was Iruka who always knew."

"So you're not going to tell Itachi?" asked Naruto in fear. 

"Of course not. What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

This was the reason Sakura loved Kakashi and Iruka. Naruto took the book and quickly flipped through the pages. It was a book like no other book. Nothing about it was advanced and everything was a basic concept of becoming a ninja, which none of the other books were ever clear on.

Sakura looked at the cover, "I never saw this book before."

"Well that one wasn't in my collection. I kept that one in a box, until now. I thought it would be more fitting for Naruto to have it."

Overjoyed, Naruto jumped on Kakashi, hugging him as tightly as he could. "Okay Naruto, your welcome," but Naruto didn't let go, he was to over come with happiness.

"Naruto," said someone from behind the stairway, "I have news for you."

"Oh Iruka-sensei," he said finally letting go of Kakashi, "what is it?"

Iruka seemed as if he had to say something terrible, but didn't want to be the one to break it to Naruto. "Itachi says he will not be attending your visit today."

Naruto's face dismayed. "But it's his birthday!" screamed Sakura, "and what? No apology. That's just like Itachi, always disappointing."

"Please Sakura, don't speak of the master that way," fought Naruto, although trying to hide his displeasure, "he'll come tomorrow and make up for today, I know he will."

"But Naruto…"

"Please, let me finish my breakfast and read my birthday gift. Thank you once again;" he said bowing down to the three of them, "it's almost time for me to ring the bells again." He walked away to the table as Sakura, Iruka, and Kakashi walked down the stairway. As the door shut behind him, Naruto let a tear fall onto his opened book. He knew now his one wish may never come true.


	4. Those Hearts Confused

_Those Hearts Confused_

Sasuke sat outside a large red door at the Akatsuki Konoha Headquarters. With a knife he slowly peeled an apple, creating a never ending peel. He wore a white shirt, baring his chest in the center, blue baggy pants that were tucked into his ankle high ninja sandals. He wore fingerless gloves, which had patting on the top. His black hair was spiked back with a few strands loose around his face.

He sighed; boredom was taking the best of him. For two days he had been sitting on a chair near the red door, waiting for them to leave. He finished peeling the bright green apple, letting the peel fall to the floor. With his knife, he cut a piece off the apple and then placed it in his mouth. The hallway was quiet, a very boring quiet. The only sound was the chewing of the apple in Sasuke's mouth. He looked down to the floor, staring at the perfect peel.

With his fingers, he lifted the peel up to his face and bounced the spring like peel in front of him. "God, I need to get out of here."

Suddenly, the door opened and out walked Itachi. He wore a large black coat with red clouds surround it, the coat he wore only to the Akatsuki meetings. Sasuke quickly stood up into a military stance, addressing Itachi as 'sir.'

Itachi, with only a blank expression on his face, stared at his younger brother. Since the murder of their family's clan, Sasuke has been loyal to his brother's side. Itachi promised Sasuke that one day they would find those that killed off their clan and bring them to justice. Sasuke was only a child when his clan was killed off. He recalls the day every night in his dreams. The fresh smell of blood, the sight of bodies mounted on top of one another, the cold shiver in the air of a village left with only his body to breathe. When he arrived home, he found his mother and father lying on the floor, with each of their heads detached, both thrown to seperate sides of the room.

"_We will find them," _said Itachi when he walked into the room to find a young Sasuke crying over his parent's bodies, _"We will find the gypsies and have them pay for what they did."_

Since that day, Sasuke has trained with the Akatsuki ninjas and became co-captain besides Itachi. No one was more loyal than Sasuke or more willing to fight.

"Sasuke, tonight the leaders leave Konoha, please make arrangements with the other ninjas to escort them out of the village," ordered Itachi.

"Yes, sir," answered Sasuke, "and what of Naruto?"

"What of Naruto?"

"It was his birthday two days ago and we have yet to visit."

"Your point being?"

"Well, I'm sure he misses you. Naruto does enjoy your visits, Itachi. It should be something we do for him."

"Should? There is nothing I 'should' do for Naruto. Everything I do for him is out of the kindness of my heart. Remember that Sasuke. Naruto 'should' be dead, but because of me, he is alive. That alone 'should' be enough."

"Yes, Itachi."

"But, none the less, I do need to visit the church, so while I'm there I'll give Naruto a visit. If you wish, go ahead of me and tell Iruka and Kakashi of my arrival. I'll be there in two hours, after the leaders leave."

"Yes, sir."

"You may go."

Sasuke left Itachi, following the orders he was given. With haste, he completed his given commands and made his way to the church, after make one quick stop.

* * *

The bells rang softly that afternoon, singing like children in a field on a brisk spring day. With each bell that rang, Sakura lit a candle, chanting her daily prayer.

"_Agnus Dei.  
Qui tollis peccata mundi.  
Agnus Dei.  
Dona nobis pacem."_

As she lit her final candle, Iruka walked to her, holding a glass with fresh water. "This is for you."

"Thank you, sensei."

"Is everything alright, Sakura? Lately your prayers have been more frequent and your speech has become more passionate. Is something the matter?"

She sighed, placing the glass of water, handed to her by Iruka, down beside her candles without tasting a drop. "I seemed to have grown a bit these past few days."

"If I may ask, how do you know? Is it because of Naruto?"

"Yes… I'm growing to realize the unfairness of how Naruto is treated and I'm reaching a point that I can no longer stand and be silent. Naruto is a human, like everyone around us, he deserves to find happiness… but then again…" She paused, falling deep into her thoughts. She knew the truth and the truth was far from freedom. No one was free in Konoha. No one smiled freely or felt as if their actions were nothing but there own. In her mind, Konoha was a trap… Konoha was their bell tower.

Iruka smirked and placed a hand on Sakura's head. He gentle graced his hand over her face, stopping at the tip of her chin. He lifted her face as to see her eye to eye. "I can see it now… You have grown… you've grown stronger than anyone else I have seen in years. You are wiser than many older than you. It is this strength in which you will find your answer, but until you do, Naruto shouldn't be the only one you should worry about." He grabbed the cup of water and took a sip before leaving Sakura to her candles.

As Iruka walked away, Sakura gazed up at the ceiling, thinking of the prisoner in the bell tower. Suddenly, a strong scent of freshly cooked food distracted her from her train of thought. She moved her gaze to the direction of the smell to find Sasuke standing beside her, staring up at the ceiling as she was doing before. "One of these days I'll figure out your fascination with the church ceiling," said Sasuke jokingly.

Sakura giggled, but only enough for her to hear. She gazed at Sasuke as the candle lights flickered on his face. The lights made him look godly, as if a prince had come to save her. His dark eyes seemed to glow with the light, only staring towards her. Her knees felt weak as he gazed at her, although her imagination was stronger than the actual gaze Sasuke was giving her. Her heart raced in her chest, she loved standing near him. "Sakura… Sakura…" he spoke, trying to awaken her from her deep stare.

"Oh," she said, "I'm sorry. It's so nice to see you Sasuke." She smiled, trying to hide the blush that began to rush on her cheeks.

"Where is Kakashi? I need to speak with him at once."

"He's with Naruto at the moment. I'll take you up stairs."

"I can wait, I prefer Naruto not to know I am here until after I speak with Kakashi." The strong smell of food passed through Sakura's nose once again. She looked around to see Sasuke hold a large wooden box with a handle.

"Did you bring lunch?"

Sasuke looked down to see what Sakura was speaking about. "Oh this… no this isn't my lunch. It's Naruto's birthday present."

"His birthday present?" she said confused.

"Well, Naruto always spoke about the fresh smell of ramen and how he's always wanted to try it, so I decided to bring him a bowl as a gift."

This was the reason Sakura loved Sasuke. Although he was related to Itachi, Sakura always had a feeling there was something different about Sasuke, something that made him a better man than Itachi. Since she could remember, she always felt that Sasuke was different, as if he was the angel of Itachi's demon. Yet she never understood why he stood by his brother's side, why Sasuke always fought for Itachi, with either words or violence. She never understood.

"I see," she answered, "and does Itachi approve of this."

Without hesitation Sasuke responded, "As long as Naruto enjoys it, Itachi does not need to know. This is something that does not concern him."

"Does this mean he does not know of this gift?"

"I am my own free person. What I bring to Naruto is nothing that concerns Itachi and regardless if Itachi did find out, he would not care for it is I who brought the gift."

"So, if I tell him, it wouldn't matter?"

Sasuke didn't respond he looked away from Sakura, holding the wooden box tightly in his hands. "I see," said Sakura, "even his own co-captain betrays his rules. What good leader has his own second hand man betray his own rules?"

Sasuke quickly turned to Sakura with devilish eyes. "I will not tolerate you talking about my brother in that sense. He is a righteous leader who will take Konoha to a higher level. He will fight for what is right and he will seek revenge on those that deserve it."

"Then why do you sneak food for Naruto behind his back?"

"I am doing no such thing. I am just doing a kind gesture for Naruto on his birthday from both Itachi and myself. A gift for a monster is nothing but a blessing."

Sakura was shocked from the words that escaped Sasuke's lips. "A monster? You believe that Naruto is a monster?"

"Believe… I know… What else but a monster looks the way he does?"

"A man who plays games with other people's hearts." Sasuke did not need to hear more, he knew who Sakura was referring to. Before he could speak, footsteps echoed behind him. Standing there was Kakashi, placing a small book inside his back pocket. "Sasuke, what a pleasure to see you. Is Itachi here as well?"

"Not yet. I came to inform you that Itachi will be arriving in two hours, after escorting the leaders of the Akatsuki out of Konoha."

"So what I heard was right, the leaders were here. If I may ask, what business did they have here?"

"I am unauthorized to tell you."

"Of course." Kakashi looked down at the box Sasuke was holding, "Is that for Naruto?"

"Yes, a birthday present from Itachi and me." Sakura turned her head away from Sasuke's lie.

Kakashi grinned behind his mask, "Well I am sure he would love to eat it before it gets cold. Sakura, please take Sasuke up stairs; I have some business to take care of here. It was nice seeing you Sasuke." Kakashi walked away from the pair, removing the small book from his back pocket.

Without a word, Sakura walked to a small door hidden at the corner of the church. Sasuke followed. With a small key, she opened the moldy, old, wooden door, which leads to a spiraling staircase with no lighting of window, but it did not bother them. With the years he had belonged to this church, Sakura knew each step to the bell tower by heart. She knew which steps would crack or we unstable to step on. She did not need light to lead the way. Sasuke, on the other hand, would listen to the instructions from Sakura. She guided him to each step until a small hint of light peaked through the cracks from the top floor door.

Sakura grabbed another key and opened the door, letting the sunlight illuminate the dark stairway. The two walked in slowly, side by side, without speaking a word. "Naruto!" yelled Sakura. A sudden thump was heard far across the room. Sakura followed the sound to find that nothing was there. She turned around, not noticing the small book lying on the floor. She tripped, falling forward to the ground, but before she could hit the ground, Sasuke caught her.

She was angry at him, but the touch of his arms wrapped around her, holding her from falling further, made her heart beat faster than it ever had before. Her face felt warmer and her body began to shake. She bit her lower lip, forcing herself to not pounce on him. "Are you okay?" he asked. She turned around to look at his face, but made sure to not stand away from his grip on her. "I'm fine," she answered.

A quick flash passed by them. Sasuke turned to see nothing there. He lifted Sakura and grabbed the wooden box from the floor, where he had left it to rescue her. He slowly walked around her, looking for what had passed him only moments ago.

Without a warning, Naruto's face was only inches from Sasuke, as he hung from the ceiling by the grip of his claws, feet, and tail. "Hey, Sasuke!" he screamed from enjoyment.

Sasuke flinched back, surprised by Naruto's uncanny entrance. "Hello, Naruto."

As the two greeted each other, Sakura looked for the book she had tripped on, only to find nothing. She turned back to Naruto, knowing now who the flash that passed by them was. "Well," she said, "I guess I should be going."

"Oh," said Naruto, flipping off the ceiling, landing on his feet, "why? Sasuke is here. Stay, we'll have a great time."

"I would love to Naruto, but," she looked towards Sasuke, "I have some things to take care of before a certain someone comes this evening."

"Is Master Itachi on his way?"

"Yes," answered Sasuke, "he'll be here in two hours."

Naruto's face glowed with a smile. He jumped up into the air, screaming with joyfulness. Sakura walked to Sasuke, "I would recommend you figure out what a monster truly is because the only person here who is a monster, is the one that treats his best friend like one." With those words, she left the bell tower, locking the door to the stairway behind her.

"So, Naruto, I brought you something," said Sasuke. Naruto dashed over to Sasuke, smelling the rich aroma coming from the small box. Sasuke opened the box and removed a small white bowl with two chop sticks lying on top. He snapped the chopsticks apart and handed them over to Naruto. "Fresh ramen… just for you… Happy birthday."

Naruto grabbed the bowl and chopsticks. He took a large breath of the sweet ramen, feeling a chill of delight down his back. He looked up at Sasuke, who had a small grin on his face, and began to tear up. Never had he received a present from Sasuke or did he ever expect to get one. Sasuke was a true friend to him, almost like a brother.

Naruto dug the chopsticks into the bowl, taking a large chunk of noodles and placing them inside this mouth. The warm noodles danced inside his mouth, filling it with a delicious taste of seasonings, vegetables, chicken and, his favorite part, freshly cooked ramen noodles. He has always smelled this fresh taste from atop the bell tower in the morning when the ramen shop began to make its first few batches, but never had he tasted it and it was better than he had imagined.

Sasuke watched Naruto digging into his bowl, watching his fox-like ears dancing on top of his head. Naruto's tail wiggled with joy, with every bite he took of the ramen. No one was happier than Naruto, not even the wondering Sasuke that sat beside him.

Sasuke sighed as he watched Naruto, thinking over his conversation with Sakura. Her words echoed in his head.

"_I would recommend you figure out what a monster truly is because the only person here, who is a monster, is the one that treats his best friend like one."_

Then, the sun began to set.

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who found my fanfiction and reviewed... You have no idea how happy I am that you enjoyed my story so much... it makes me want to work harder on it... I hope you all enjoy the new chapter... Sorry it took so long... I was having trouble with Sasuke's character... Please leave me more reviews or just send me a hello... its always nice to hear from others. Enjoy. **


	5. Out There

**Author's Note: Sorry that I took so VERY long to update, but as a full time college student and a full time worker for a Theme Park, I hardly find time to write. But I'm glad I finally did. I hope this was worth the wait. Enjoy.**

**BTW thanks for all the comments and favs, I promise more chapters in the next month or so. **

_Out There_

The night sky twinkles with the bright stars around them. There was no cloud in sight, only a crescent moon and thousands of stars. Naruto laid on his back, belly peaking out to it's fullest as he belched loudly. The sound echoed in the bell towers, as if they were the bells themselves. Sasuke lied beside him with his hands underneath his head. He stared up into the sky in deep thought.

"I think Sakura likes you," said Naruto, interrupting Sasuke's thought process.

"What do you mean?"

"I think she has a crush on you."

"What makes you say that?"

"How can you not see it?" Naruto quickly stood up and jumped onto a wooden beam above him. He wrapped his tail around it and hung upside down to face Sasuke on the floor. "When you had her in your arms, she started turning really red."

"That doesn't mean anything. I must have caught her off guard."

"No, she had that look on her face. The one I see couples have when they walk around at night."

Sasuke sat up and looked down to the village. He never realized how gentle and peaceful Konoha looked from the tower. Every time he was there, Itachi wasn't far behind. Sasuke could never rest when Itachi was around. He always felt the need to be professional around his older brother.

"Naruto," softly said Sasuke, "do you consider me your best friend?"

Naruto jumped down, landing beside Sasuke. He crossed his legs and placed his hands on his knees. "Of course. You've always been here for me."

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto. Gazing at him, Sasuke saw something he never noticed. He saw gentleness in Naruto, an innocence that only a newborn child has. Behind the fox-like appearance, Naruto was a tender and loving person, far from being a monster.

Sakura was right. Naruto is human, no matter how he looks.

Sasuke stood up and walked to the outside balcony. He leaned on the ledge and looked down to the town square. He watched people going by there day, speaking with friends and family, enjoying their time with others or alone, living life.

"_Naruto could never feel that,"_ Sasuke realized.

"Naruto," said Sasuke, but Naruto was gone.

"Hello Master," he heard Naruto say near the entrance of the bell tower stairwell. Sasuke found Itachi standing with a basket of week old bread and sour milk. Behind him stood Sakura trying to distance herself from him as much as possible.

"Sasuke, I'm glad you are here," said Itachi, "Do me the favor of guarding the door. I don't feel save in this current state."

Sakura glared at Itachi, wishing she could strike at him without punishment. Sasuke bowed to Itachi and told Sakura to leave the room. As they walked out, Sasuke closed the door behind him, leaving a small crack as to listen to Itachi and Naruto.

"It's good to see you, master," said Naruto, bowing on his knees to Itachi.

"It has been a while. I thought an appearance was needed. I always need to make sure they aren't mistreating you. Here, this is for you."

Naruto grabbed the basket and began to eat the bread, even though he was still full from the ramen he had earlier. "Thank you, Master."

The bread tasted like rubber, small pieces were hard to pull out and chewing drew pain to Naruto's jaw. Still, he ate every last bit, only to please Itachi.

"So, Master, are you going to take me to the village tomorrow?"

"Why would I do a thing like that?"

"You promised me a long time ago that you would take me to the village for my twentieth birthday. This year, so happens to be it."

Itachi turned to Naruto and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I will do no such thing."

Naruto stopped chewing the bread and stared at Itachi, allowing a small piece of bread to fall from his mouth. His head became dizzy as his heart beat with frustration. He had waited for so long, but nothing was going to come true. His hopes and dreams crushed with six simple words. Still, Naruto did not say a thing; he knew not to object to Itachi and to obey whatever he said.

With a cruel, almost emotionless face, Itachi demanded Naruto to rise and walked him to the balcony.

"The world is cruel. The world is wicked. It's I alone whom you can trust in this whole city. I am your only friend," said Itachi. He showed Naruto the village below, pointing to the town's people.

Sasuke stood behind the door, listening to the lies Itachi spoke to Naruto.

"I, who keep you, teach you, feed you, dress you. I, who look upon you without fear. How can I protect you, boy, unless you always stay in here; away in here? Remember what I taught you, Naruto. You are deformed and you are ugly. And these are crimes for which the world shows little pity. You do not comprehend."

"You are my one defender," responded Naruto.

"Out there they'll revile you as a monster."

"I am a monster."

"Out there they will hate and scorn and jeer."

"Only a monster."

"Why invite their calumny and consternation? Stay in here; be faithful to me."

"I am faithful and grateful."

"Do as I say. Obey. And stay in here."

Itachi left Naruto at the balcony. Without care, Itachi walked away, leaving Naruto in a daze. Tears weld up in Naruto's eyes as Itachi made his way to the stairwell. He opened the door to find Sasuke standing in position as a guard. He passed Sasuke, leaving him without another word.

Itachi disappeared into the stairwell, but Sasuke stayed behind. He stood behind the door, looking for Naruto behind the crack of the door.

Naruto sat on the ledge of the balcony, letting tears run down his face. With his claws, he wiped them away, speaking to himself underneath the night light.

"Safe behind these windows and these parapets of stone. Gazing at the people down below me. All my life I watch them as I hide up here alone. Hungry for the histories they show me. All my life I memorize their faces. Knowing them as they will never know me. All my life I wonder how it feels to pass a day, not above them, but part of them. And out there, living in the sun. Give me one day out there. All I ask is one to hold forever. Out there, where they all live unaware. What I'd give? What I'd dare? Just to live one day out there."

Naruto stood up from the ledge and ran across the bell tower. To the east, he opened a large white, frayed curtain, exposing the moonlight to its brightest. The lights of the town shinned the night sky with a glow only measured to fireflies flying above a pond.

Sasuke peaked at the sight. It was nothing more than magic; Konoha had never looked so beautiful.

The sight sparkled in Naruto's eyes, eliminating the tears that fell only a few seconds before.

"Out there among the millers and the weavers and their wives. Through the roofs and gables I can see them. Every day they shout and scold and go about their lives, heedless of the gift it is to be them. If I was in their skin, I'd treasure every instant out there."

Naruto jumped to the thin wooden beam above his head. He hopped one beam after another, until he reached the top of the tower. He crept himself into a small crack on the roof, just enough for him to slitter his way through.

On top of the roof, Naruto climbed to the peak of a small steel rode, pointing to the sky. He held on with his hands, catching the glimpse of Konoha that no one, but him had ever seen. He took a deep breath of the night air and exhaled a sigh.

"Just one day and then, I swear I'll be content, with my share. I won't resent or despair. Old and bent, I won't care. I'll have spent one day out there."

He wrapped his tail around the steel rode, sitting in the roof, gazing the night sky.

Sasuke closed the door behind him, slowly making his way down the stairwell. As he made it to the end, he closed the stairwell and walked passed Sakura's room. Although he didn't make a sound, Sakura watched him from behind her door.

As Sasuke walked out of the church door, Sakura sighed in relief. Maybe, it wasn't too late for Sasuke after all.

_Topsy Turvy_


	6. Topsy Turvy: Pearl Eyes

Topsy Turvy: Pearl Eyes

_Topsy Turvy: Pearl Eyes_

It was a bright morning on the sixth of January. It was still fresh into the New Year, but nothing seemed different when Sakura awoke. The sunlight still seeped its way through the old cracks on the wall in the morning. The smell of fresh flowers from the pot that lay near her bedroom window filled the room with a fresh scent. She made her bed, as she did every morning and placed her pajamas neatly atop her pillow.

Before she lit the morning candles, she bathed, dressed, and ate. She gathered some bread and placed it on a plate, to take to Naruto after he rung the morning bells. The bells chimed over her, echoing throughout every corner of the church. As each bell sang, she lit a candle and said her prayer.

"_Agnus Dei.  
Qui tollis peccata mundi.  
Agnus Dei.  
Dona nobis pacem."_

As the last bells sound softened, Sakura grabbed the plate and poured water into a cup. She went to the doorway, up the dark spiral steps, and into the bell tower. The door squeaked open.

"Naruto," she said.

Dust filled the air as the rush of sunlight caught her off guard. She shields her eyes without trying to drop the cup.

"Naruto? I've brought breakfast."

She placed the plate and cup on the small wooden table and walked around the bell tower looking for Naruto. He was no where to be seen. She walked to his bedroom, but didn't find him inside. The wooden panel to their secret hiding place for his books wasn't open and his usual stop on the balcony still had dust from the night before. There was no trace of Naruto.

Sakura began to panic, wondering if Itachi had finally done something to him, but there was still one place she hadn't looked. She had trained long and hard inside her room, controlling her chakra. She was able to walk on walls in her bedroom, but she had never tried it in such a high place as the bell tower.

She gathered her chakra and concentrated it her feet. She took her first step on to a thick wooden pole that led to the center of the ceiling. At first, she took every step cautiously, but it didn't take her long before she was walking like she would on the ground. She made her way to the center of the ceiling, to find a small window at the top of the churches peak. She walked over and popped her head through to find Naruto standing at the edge of the roof.

He had a clock over his body, if it wasn't because she was familiar with his face, Sakura would have believed it was a normal person. The long green cloke covered his fox-like ears and tail. It snapped shut with a large silver metal pin with the Konoha symbol. The hood cast a shadowed over his face, making it hard to recognize his features.

"What are you doing?" screamed Sakura.

Naruto flinched with fear and slowly looked towards Sakura.

"Sakura," he said, "how did you get up here?"

"What does that matter? What matters is, what your doing up here in Kakashi's cloke."

"I can explain everything…"

She narrowed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. "Start explaining."

"I'm going to the festival."

"What?!"

"I'm sorry Sakura. I've always wanted to go to the festival. I'm sick of seeing it from up here; I want to be a part of it. Itachi would never let me do such a thing and when Kakashi left his cloke up here yesterday, I just couldn't resist. Please Sakura, let me go? Please. I'll never ask for anything again. I promise I'll only do it today. Please, I want only one day… out there."

She could see the despair in his eyes. If she didn't let him go, that look would never fade. She couldn't imagine seeing him like this forever.

"What about Itachi?"

"He won't be coming today. It's the festival. He'll be attending with Sasuke, to keep an eye out on the gypsies."

"I'm still surprised he lets them roam free for a day."

"It brings Konoha hope and joy. It gives them peace of mind and lets them celebrate their lives for a day. At least that's what Sasuke told me."

Sakura smirked. She knew Sasuke had lied to Naruto, but it wasn't worth telling him the truth. The only reason the festival happened every year was to allow the villagers to be fooled into their fake happy lives. The villagers all knew this, but even they lied to themselves and made it their one day of peace among the people.

The only shock was that Itachi kept his promise to never harm the gypsies on this day. It was the only form of honor anyone ever saw in him.

"Well," said Sakura, "I guess all I can say is, have fun and don't get caught."

Naruto beamed, his smile had never been so large. He jumped on to Sakura, hugging her head in his arms. She began to loss control of her chakra.

"Naruto, let go, I'm going to fall."

He quickly let go of her. He peered his head through the window to see exactly how she made it up there.

"You're going to have to teach me that one day," he said.

She smiled and pushed him back outside. He gathered his balance and began to sneak his way out of the church. She watched him descend down the roof until the loud music of the festival began to play.

"_Come one, come all!_

_Leave your loops and milking stools_

_Coop the hens and pen the mules_

_Come one, come all!_

_Close the churches and the schools_

_It's the day for breaking rules_

_Come and join the feast of fools!"_

The town square was buzzing with excitement. Every inch was covered in colorful decorations, ribbons and streamers around tall curved poles. Bright colorful lights hung around, creating a rainbow sky. Across the church was a large stage, covering every market booth that normally stood there.

People gathered around the stage as the opening music began to play. Everyone was in costume, from the townspeople to the gypsies dancing around the area. No one was in their normal attire, except for those in Itachi's army.

Naruto's eyes shined with delight. He couldn't believe where he was standing. For once he felt like everyone else. No one saw him as a monster, but as a villager enjoying the festival. He walked aimlessly around the town square, getting distracted by the smallest things.

His nose quickly led him to the food stands. His mouth watered as he saw fresh steak, chicken, rice, fish, vegetables, and, best of all, ramen being cooked in front of him. He grabbed a bowl of ramen and devoured it.

"Goodness, someone is hungry," said a tall man with a scruffy bread and tan skin, "cook me up another bowl."

"Coming," said the three cooks behind him.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

"Naruto," he answered. 

"Name's Asuma and these are my cooks, Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru. If there is anything else we can cook for you, just ask. Everything tonight is on the house."

The blond girl placed a fresh bowl of ramen in front of Naruto.

"Enjoy," said Ino, "Choji, put that steak down, you can't eat it all yourself."

"Don't mind them," said Shikamaru, "she can be a little loud and he can't control himself."

"Shikamaru, help me stop Choji!"

"How troublesome."

Naruto finished his ramen as he heard drums beating from the stage. He rushed his way to the stage, not realizing Sasuke standing in front of him. He bumped into Sasuke falling on the ground. Before Sasuke could see who had hit him, Naruto realized it just WHO it was and quickly crawled away into the crowd.

"Naruto?" Sasuke said to himself after he saw, what appeared to be, a fox tail in the crowd.

Naruto ran into a tent, hoping that Sasuke didn't follow him.

"Excuse me," said a female voice, "what are you doing in the girl's dressing room?" Naruto looked behind him to find a tall woman dressed in what seemed to be bandages. Her red eyes glared at him, waiting for a response.

"What's wrong, Kurenai-sensei?" said a soft shy voice from behind an orange curtain.

"A boy snuck into the dressing room."

"What?" said the girl nervously. She poked her head outside the curtain to spot Naruto standing nervously in front of Kurenai. She could tell his body was shaking as his hood fell back, exposing his face and ears.

The girl gasped and her face began to blush. She couldn't help, but think that he was cute.

"Get out before I force you out," screamed Kurenai. Naruto quickly turned around and ran out of the tent. Kurenai watched him leave, but before he was out of site she screamed, "Great costume by the way."

Naruto then realized that his hood had fallen. He made his way to the stage as he placed the hood over his ears once again. A loud bang came from the stage as a puff of smoke covered the area. There appeared the three heads of the festival.

Tenten, the female artist of hidden knifes, Lee, the jester of tricks, and Neji, the host of the festival and rumored leader of the gypsies.

The festival grew silent as they appeared on the stage, until Neji spoke.

"Once a year we throw a party here in town. Once a year we turn all of Konoha upside down. Every man's a king and every king's a clown. Welcome to Topsy Turvy Day."

Fireworks exploded and the music began to play again. Costumed gypsies covered the stage, dancing and singing along with the music. The crowd cheered with excitement as Tenten showed off her skills, blindfolded and hitting targets with pin-point precision. Lee impressed the crowd with his light feet, quickly moving around the stage in the blink of an eye. Neji took over as host, keeping the crowd guessing as to what would be next.

"It's the day the devil in us gets released," said Neji, "It's the day we mock the prig and shock the priest. Everything is topsy turvy at the Feast of Fools!"

Naruto was amused by everything he saw. Every year he saw the festival from atop the bell tower, but it never compared to what he was experiencing. The energy from the crowd, the lights, music, sound, feel of it all was overwhelming to him. He almost cried with joy.

The tempo of the music changed and the crowed began to gather closer to the stage. Naruto moved with the crowd to find himself at the very edge of the stage. He looked around to see what was about to happen, when he spotted something from the corner of his eyes.

Sitting in a tall stand beside the stage was Itachi. Beside him stood Sasuke as they over looked the crowd and stage. There wasn't a spot in the crowd where you couldn't see Itachi; it was his way of letting the villagers know that his eyes were always watching.

Naruto dug his head dipper into his hood, hoping that neither Itachi nor Sasuke spotted him. A loud explosion burst onto the stage. Naruto stared as Neji began to speak, "Come one, come all! Hurry, hurry, here's your chance to see the mystery and romance. Come one, come all! See the finest girl in Konoha. Make an entrance to entrance."

Neji lifted his hand into the air. As he launched his hand down, he seemed to gaze at Naruto. A poof of smoke covered the stage as Neji's voice echoed, "Dance la Hinata. Dance!"

The smoke began to clear. Naruto could see long black hair flowing with the smoke and two bright pearl eyes shining from behind the dust, but it wasn't Neji. A long red dress flowed as the girl twirled in the smoke. She held a long purple scarf and followed her ever movement. In her hair was a gold head band that sparkled in the sunlight. She had no shoes, but a small gold anklet on her right leg.

From head to toe, she was dazzling, and Naruto couldn't look away. She moved with the music, dancing around the stage as if no one was watching. She moved her hips to the beat and kicked her legs as high as the sky. With every movement she made, the crowd cheered for her to do more.

She began to run toward the high tower Itachi sat in. Sasuke watched as she scaled the tower as if walking on the walls. She jumped over the edge of the tower and danced towards Itachi.

She wrapped her scarf around Itachi and shyly blew him a kiss. Sasuke almost grabbed Hinata from Itachi, but Itachi made no sign to do so. As she walked back to the edge of the tower, Itachi grabbed the scarf from around his neck, swirled it around his hand and gentle smelled it.

"The scent of a demon," he said softly.

Hinata froze at the edge of the tower, as she heard him speak. She turned back to him and glared with her pearl eyes. The music slowed down, almost as if awaited her next move. She leaned back at the edge of the tower and began to fall down to the stage, but before she lost sight of Itachi she whispered her final words.

"Long live the Hokage."

A collective gasp arose from the crowd as Hinata fell from the tall tower. A poof a smoke burst midair as so did Hinata. The crowd looked around to see where she had landed, but no one spotted her.

Naruto began to panic, wondering if Itachi or Sasuke had done anything to the girl. Then a drum pounded loudly on the stage and there appeared Hinata a fresh gush of smoke. The crowd cheered.

The music began to play again as Hinata began to dance. Naruto watched every move she made, gawking at her like a stray puppy. His heart began to beat faster as the end of the dance approached. Hinata spun quickly and landed on her back, with her head dangling at the edge of the stage.

The crowd applauded as Hinata opened her eyes to see herself face to face with Naruto. For that moment, she couldn't hear a sound. Her face began to blush and her body froze as she stared into Naruto's red eyes. It was the boy from the dressing room and he was even cuter up close.

The music stopped and Neji appeared on the stage. He began to announce the next performance, but neither Hinata nor Naruto could hear him. In those few moments they were lost inside each other's gaze.


	7. Topsy Turvy: King of Fools

_Topsy Turvy: King of Fools_

Lee walked up to Hinata to help her up. It took her a moment to realize him hovering over her. "Hinata…" he said.

She shook her head and looked up at Lee. She smiled shyly and grabbed his hand to stand up. She fixed her dress and walked toward Neji, but not before taking one more glance at Naruto. She smiled and blushed behind her long hair as to make sure he wouldn't see her.

It took Naruto a bit longer to realize where he was standing. It wasn't until he felt a push from the crowd that he awoke from his daze.

"Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for," announced Neji, "Here it is, you know exactly what's in store. Now's the time we laugh until our sides get sore. Now's the time we crown the King of Fools! You all remember last year's king?"

The crowd turned around to see an older man standing atop a turtle. He was wearing a skin tight green leotard and posed rather a femininely and had a large golden crowd atop his head. "Aw, youth!" he screamed.

"Way to go sensei!" screamed Lee.

Ignoring his sensei and seemingly idiotic teammate, Neji continued, "So make a face that's horrible and frightening. Make a face as gruesome as a gargoyle's wing. For the face that's ugliest will be the King of Fools!"

Suddenly the crowd cheered, deafening to Naruto's sensitive hearing. Groups of people crawled their way to the stage. Naruto began to hear a ringing in his ear. Without realizing it, he started to scratch the inside of his ears and his hood fell off. A small group around him began to giggle as they saw Naruto. Without warning, they lifted Naruto up into the air and placed him at the end of the line on stage.

One by one, Hinata and Tenten began to walk the line asking for the crowd to choose their king. One by one, the crowd rejected every single man on stage. Naruto began to panic. He didn't want to be on stage, but there was no where to hide.

As Hinata and Tenten proceeded to remove the masks of each man, Naruto began to stare at Hinata. The closer she got, the less he realized where he was. His heart beat faster as his nerves shook, not because he was on stage in front of thousands of people, but because she was getting closer and closer to him.

Hinata removed a masked that appeared like a normal man, but underneath was the face of a large white dog. He barked loudly, but the crowd still booed them off. Tenten pushed him off the stage as he fell into a pile of mud. Hinata gazed down, biting her lip apologetically. Next up was a man filled from head to toe in insects. Hinata went to remove a mask, but noticed that they were indeed real insects. She backed away scared and the crowd screamed in disgust. Tenten grabbed a large stick and pushed him off the stage as well, falling down beside the dog man in the mud.

"Sorry, Kiba. Sorry, Shino," whispered Hinata to the men in the mud. They said nothing in return.

Hinata and Tenten moved on to the next man, to find herself staring at the deep red eyes she had lost herself in only moments ago. She blushed, but before she could say a word, he screamed in pain.

"Hey, don't touch those," screamed Naruto.

Tenten let go of Naruto's fox-like ears and took a step back, as so did Hinata. "What?" asked Naruto.

The crowd grew silent as they all watched in horror. Tenten walked up toward Naruto once again. She went to grab his ears, but before she could Naruto quickly turned around to grab her arm.

"Oh my god!" screamed a woman from the crowd, "he has a tail."

Naruto looked down to see his tail waving side to side, peaking its way out of the cloke. He let go of Tenten's arm and slowly walked backwards to the back of the stage.

"What happened, Tenten?" asked Neji.

"He's ears; they were attached to his head."

"You don't mean…"

"Those are his ears."

Naruto's breathing was getting shorter and his heart was racing in fear. Everyone around him glared with fear. He could see mothers grabbing on to their children as if to protect them from him. His eyes started to water, until he heard a familiar voice.

"Naruto!" screamed Sasuke.

Naruto looked up to the top of the stage tower to find Sasuke screaming his name. Sitting beside him was Itachi, gazing down with irritation and revulsion. Naruto stopped breathing in a flash. Tears fell down his face. There was no turning back, he had been caught.

"What shall we do, brother?" asked Sasuke.

Itachi looked intently down at Naruto. "Let them take care of it," he answered.

"What is the matter with everyone?" yelled Neji, breaking the gasps from the audience, "Isn't the King of Fools meant to be the ugliest and most hideous thing in town? Why not the bell tower monster? We've all heard the legends, now here stands the proof."

"After all, it is the Topsy Turvy Festival," continued Lee.

"So there we have it," said Tenten. She grabbed a new golden crown and placed it on Naruto's head.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you, your King of Fools. The bell tower monster of legend…Naruto!"

The crowd roared. Confetti covered the sky as music began to play once again. Naruto wiped the tears from his face. It took him a while to process what had happened. The crowd was cheering. Was it for him? It couldn't be for him, but it was.

Shino and Kiba climbed onto the stage and lifted Naruto over their shoulders. They applauded for Naruto as they carried him to the crowd. Naruto giggled with joy. People reached to shake his hand. Some girls even gave him kisses on the cheek. The feeling streaming over his heart felt different. He had never felt acceptance before. He enjoyed it.

For minutes on the end the crowd chanted his name, until they placed him on a circular stage in the center of the festival. There Naruto stood proudly, bowing down to his 'people.' He blew kisses and was overjoyed.

"There he is," whispered Itachi, "the King of Fools."

Suddenly, the stage began to spin. Naruto crouched down to hold his balance. Something wet hit him on his back as he was spinning. It wasn't until he stopped that he realized someone had thrown a tomato at him. Once again the stage started to spin, but this time more tomatoes were thrown at him. When the stage stopped again, the people around him grabbed at his cloke and pulling him down to the floor of the stage. They threw ropes across his back and tied him down.

"Master!" he screamed.

"Brother, we should help him," said Sasuke.

"No," responded Itachi, just as Sasuke was about to jump in, "let them at him. He deserves his punishment." Sasuke bit his tongue and grind his teeth. For the first time, Sasuke felt the erg to disobey orders.

As the ropes dug deeper into Naruto's back, he growled in pain and screamed for Itachi. Hinata watched in horror. "Neji, we must do something. They have never been this cruel before."

"I wish we could, but if we do, we'll get attacked." Around them stood guards waiting for any move on the gypsy's part, Itachi had given the order to attack if anyone aided Naruto. All the gypsy's could do was watch.

Naruto body became weak. He could no longer feel anything, except the juices of the vegetables and fruits that had been thrown at him. His blond hair was covered in red juice and his back was bleeding from the rope burns. He coughed blood and his vision blurred. The last thing he saw was a pair of angelic pearl eyes running towards him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

_Naruto lied in a large puddle of water. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a dark room. He stood up, still feeling the pain of the rope burns and the dizziness from the spinning. _

_He rubbed his eyes, but couldn't seem to clearly see anything. It was then he noticed he was in a dark room and the only thing he could see was the water underneath him. He looked up. The one bit of light was hovering over him, allowing him to see only himself. _

_He looked down at the water; it was only up to his ankle, but he saw something different. The claws on his feet were missing; they looked like normal human toenails. He looked at his hands to see the same thing. He turned around, his tail was gone. He looked down at the water and caught a reflection of his face. _

_His eyes were blue, softly gazing back at him. He had normal human ears and no fangs. The only thing that didn't change was his hair and the whisker markings on his face, although they did appear thinner than before._

_Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was human, and not a monster._

"_It's nice isn't it?" said a ruff and beast-like voice, "to think, that's how you were meant to be."_

"_Who's there?" asked Naruto._

"_Your best friend."_

_Naruto didn't respond._

"_We've known each other for a very long time, since you were born in fact."_

"_Where are you?"_

"_Inside of you, of course."_

_A gust of wind blew around Naruto. The ceiling above him opened wider. Pieces of cement fell down, splashing against the water. Naruto ran, but didn't really know where to go since he couldn't see. _

_He ran into a steel bar and fell back into the water. Once he collected himself, he looked up to see a large prison cell. On the look was a paper seal, with the same symbols that he had on his stomach. _

_The prisoner inside stepped forward. What stood before Naruto was a large fox demon, with teeth bigger than Naruto himself. The fox tired to reach between the bars with his claws to grab Naruto, but the seal zapped him. He growled._

"_What are you?" asked Naruto._

"_I'm the monster the lives inside you. It's because of me that you are who you are. I'm the reason you're a monster."_

"_But how…"_

"_A long time ago, someone sealed me inside of you. In short, we are one and I can help you."_

"_With what?"_

"_Let me out and I'll destroy those that have wronged you. I'll destroy everyone and everything. I'll seek vengeance on Konoha."_

_Naruto rubbed his shoulders. They did this to him; they caused him pain and isolated him from their world. He was angry, but mostly alone. Still, no matter how much his pain was, he knew that he couldn't do it._

"_I can't."_

"_Yes you can. Let me take care of them, especially that Master of yours." _

_Naruto stood silent. He looked up at the fox longingly. _

"_All you have to do is rip that seal and it will set me free… just rip the seal…"_

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Please stop!" screamed Hinata bravely, "why are you doing this? There is no need for such violence."

The crowd stood still, watching Hinata bravely stand before Naruto. She could feel her heartbeat all over her body; never had she acted to bravely before.

With the movement of his finger, Itachi gave the sign to attack. Without haste, the guards moved forward to attack Hinata. Before they could reach, hundreds of kunai knifes hit the guards of the throat. With a pull of a string, Tenten retrieved her kunai back for the next attack. Quickly the gypsy's jumped into action, attacking every guard that made a move. The townspeople scattered around the village, trying to escape the battle that had erupted.

Swarms of insects attacked a group of guards to Hinata's left, and Kiba, riding his white dog, Akamaru, attack from the right. Even those gypsies's that were attending the food stands entered the battle.

Just as Hinata was going to unravel Naruto from the ropes, she felt a heavy cloud of chakra following from behind her. As protection, she took a fighting stance to find no one but Naruto.

It wasn't until she heard the ropes snapping off of Naruto's back that she realized where the chakra had come from. A loud growl escaped Naruto's lips as a clear coating of red chakra flowed all over Naruto's body. Beside his tail, grew another, except it was purely chakra. His fangs grew larger and his claws thicker. With one swoop, Naruto broke free from the ropes and let out a scream.

Hinata couldn't believe her eyes, and neither could anyone else. Naruto dug his claws in to the floor of the small stage. He breathed like a beast, ready to attack.

"Naruto?" said Hinata.

Naruto lifted his arm and back handed Hinata in the stomach. With force, she flew off the stage and crashed threw the bottom of the stage tower. As the tower shook, Itachi and Sasuke ran to the edge to see what was happening. In awe, Itachi watched as Naruto grew stronger.

"Is that Naruto?" asked Sasuke.

Itachi watched, as he gasped with astonishment. _"I found it,"_ thought Itachi, _"I finally found the kyuubi." _

As the tower shook again, Sasuke grabbed Itachi by the arm and led him out of the tower. Naruto jumped off the small stage and attacked anything or anyone in his path. Some tired to attack him, but everyone failed. All his wounds had healed; all that was left was a killer beast attacking those that tired to stop him.

The gypsies took this opportunity to run and leave Naruto to the guards. Kakashi, Iruka, and Sakura stepped out of the church to see what all the noise was about. Sakura gasped as she found Naruto attacking the village, tearing everything he could find.

"It's the demon," said Kakashi.

"What demon?" asked Sakura, but he didn't answer back.

The ground trembled as pieces of land rose from underneath Naruto. Itachi watched, wondering who had been doing such a jutsu. None of his men knew such a technique. Pieces of wood turned into large blocks. Naruto tired to run away, but he was caught underneath the tree branches.

The tree branches fell down on Naruto, creating a cloud of dust. Everyone watched mutely, waiting to see what had happened. Gradually, the guards made their way to Naruto.

As the dust cleared, they found Naruto unconscious underneath the tree branches. The overflowing chakra had vanished. All that lay on the floor was the Naruto from before.


End file.
